Republic Geodetic Institute he reacted after an interview on the portal of the weekly "Vreme" with the president of the Bar Association of Vojvodina, Vladimir Beljanski, which this institution claims "contain incorrect and unfounded claims about the functioning of the cadastre."
The RGZ's denials are transmitted in full:
"Mr. Beljanski shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature and function of the cadastre." The real estate cadastre is primarily a technical and administrative institution that keeps records of real estate and rights to it, including ownership. Legal matters, such as court decisions on ownership or disputes, are not under the jurisdiction of the cadastre but the courts.
The statement that solving the ownership issue is a 'legal, not a technological issue' ignores the fact that the cadastre functions as a system of public registers, where the legal basis of registration (eg contracts, court decisions) is a prerequisite for the implementation of procedures.
In his address, Beljanski implies that in the cadastre, IT experts do the work of lawyers, which is not true. IT experts are tasked with improving and maintaining information systems that enable more efficient record keeping and electronic communication with users. Legal issues are still handled by qualified lawyers within the institution.
The statement about the "huge number of pending cases" and the slowness of the cadastre is partly true, but it ignores structural challenges such as:
- Limited resources that are a consequence of reduced budget and other systemic factors beyond the direct control of RGZ;
- Increased volume of requests due to accelerated digitization and growth of the real estate market;
- Insufficient understanding of citizens and users about laws and procedures for registration of rights;
Allegations of "frequent corruption" are not supported by concrete evidence. Such baseless statements damage the institution's reputation and create mistrust among citizens. If there are suspicions of corruption, it is the responsibility of lawyers to initiate legal processes and report cases, not to rely on unverified rumours.
As an argument for these blanket statements, the Republic Geodetic Institute has internationally recognized certificates (ISO 9001, ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and ISO 37001), which are a guarantee of transparency and compliance with world standards. The implementation of the ISO 37001 certificate for the fight against bribery and corruption was evaluated by international experts as a key step in strengthening anti-corruption efforts in Serbia, which implies that professional users
(lawyers) and employees of RGZ are obliged to report any form of corruption to the competent authority. We call on Mr. Beljanski to act in accordance with the standard and report corruption, which he insists exists, and not to state falsehoods.
Emphasizing that the courts used to keep land records does not take into account that the reform of the land record keeping system (the introduction of the cadastre) was implemented in order to centralize, modernize and make the process more transparent. The purpose of transferring that responsibility from the courts to the cadastre was to relieve the courts and create a more efficient system.
Statements like "citizens resort to other solutions" imply that the cadastre is dysfunctional, which is not true. The electronic procedures implemented in the cadastre enable faster processing of requests compared to outdated systems, although there are still challenges in adapting to new technologies. The reforms implemented by the RGZ, including the digitization of the cadastral system, have received significant recognition from the most important international institutions, including umbrella organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank.
Mr. Beljanski, as the president of the regional bar association, should provide constructive suggestions for improving cooperation between lawyers and the cadastre, instead of giving blanket and unfounded criticisms. His appeal to unverified claims and spreading rumors about corruption harms institutions and professional cooperation. It is clear from his statements that he does not have enough understanding of the responsibilities of the cadastre and the role of IT experts in the modernization of the system, which raises doubts about his competence to make such statements publicly".
